Royal Navy

The oldest of the British armed services, and as of the early 19th century, the most powerful naval force in the world. Mostly through experience, the Royal Navy developed unprecedented logistical support, strategies and tactics that enabled it to assert almost complete superiority on the seas.

One of the Navy's most stunning victories took place on October 21, 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar, where Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson defeated a numerically superior French and Spanish fleet.